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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15

A comparison of the neutron detection efficiency and response characteristics of two pixelated PSD-capable organic scintillator detectors with different photo-detection readout methods

Here, we characterize the performance of two pixelated neutron detectors: a PMT-based array that utilizes Anger logic for pixel identification and a SiPM-based array that employs individual pixel readout. The SiPM-based array offers improved performance over the previously developed PMT-based detector both in terms of uniformity and neutron detection efficiency. Each detector array uses PSD-capable plastic scintillator as a detection medium. We describe the calibration and neutron efficiency measurement of both detectors using a 137 Cs source for energy calibration and a 252 Cf source for calibration of the neutron response. We find that the intrinsic neutron detection efficiency of the SiPM-based array is (30.2 ± 0.9)%, which is almost twice that of the PMT-based array, which we measure to be (16.9 ± 0.1)%.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

A MHz X-ray diffraction set-up for dynamic compression experiments in the diamond anvil cell

An experimental platform for dynamic diamond anvil cell (dDAC) research has been developed at the High Energy Density (HED) Instrument at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (European XFEL). Advantage was taken of the high repetition rate of the European XFEL (up to 4.5 MHz) to collect pulse-resolved MHz X-ray diffraction data from samples as they are dynamically compressed at intermediate strain rates (≤10 3 s −1 ), where up to 352 diffraction images can be collected from a single pulse train. The set-up employs piezo-driven dDACs capable of compressing samples in ≥340 µs, compatible with the maximum length of the pulse train (550 µs). Results from rapid compression experiments on a wide range of sample systems with different X-ray scattering powers are presented. A maximum compression rate of 87 TPa s −1 was observed during the fast compression of Au, while a strain rate of ∼1100 s −1 was achieved during the rapid compression of N 2 at 23 TPa s −1 .

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Advances in secondary ion mass spectrometry for N-doped niobium

Accurate secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurement of nitrogen in niobium relies on the use of closely equivalent standards, made by ion implantation, to convert nitrogen signal intensity to nitrogen content by determination of relative sensitivity factors (RSFs). Accurate RSF values for ppm-range nitrogen contents are increasingly critical, as more precision is sought in processes for next-generation superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) accelerator cavities. Furthermore, factors influencing RSF value measurements were investigated with the aim of reliably attaining better than 10% accuracy in nitrogen concentrations at various depths into the bulk. This has been accomplished for materials typical of SRF cavities at the cost of increased attention to all aspects.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Design and commissioning of readout electronics for a $K$$^{0}_{L}$ and $μ$ detector at the Belle II experiment

The K-long and muon detector (KLM) constitutes the outer-most volume of the Belle II spectrometer at the interaction region of the SuperKEKB collider in Tsukuba, Japan. The KLM detector was partially upgraded since the Belle experiment by replacing many of its resistive-plate chambers with scintillators containing wavelength-shifting fibers and instrumenting it with silicon photomultipliers. Here, we describe the readout electronics, firmware, and software created to control and acquire data from the scintillators and resistive-plate chambers.

Belle II↗

Rapid assessment of structural and compositional changes during early stages of zirconium alloy oxidation

A multimodal chemical imaging approach has been developed and applied to detail the dynamic, atomic-scale changes associated with oxidation of a zirconium alloy (Zircaloy-4). Scanning transmission electron microscopy, a gas-phase reactor chamber attached to an atom probe tomography instrument, and synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy were employed to reveal morphology, composition, crystal, and electronic structure changes that occur during initial stages of oxidation at 300 °C. Oxidation was carried out in 10 mbar O 2 gas for short exposure times of 1 and 5 min. A multilayered oxide film with a cubic ZrO adjacent to the oxide/metal interface, a nanoscopic transition region with a graded composition of ZrO 2-x (where 0 < x < 1), and tetragonal ZrO 2 in the outermost oxide were formed. Partitioning of the major alloying element (tin) to the oxide/metal interface and heterogeneously within the oxide accompanied the development of the layered oxide. Our work provides a rapid, high-throughput approach for detailed characterisation of initial stages of zirconium alloy oxidation at an accelerated time scale, with implications for several other alloy systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Characterization of transverse electron pulse trains using RF powered traveling wave metallic comb striplines

Advancements in ultrafast electron microscopy have allowed elucidation of spatially selective structural dynamics. However, as the spatial resolution and imaging capabilities have made progress, quantitative characterization of the electron pulse trains has not been reported at the same rate. In fact, inexperienced users have difficulty replicating the technique because only a few dedicated microscopes have been characterized thoroughly. Systems replacing laser driven photoexcitation with electrically driven deflectors especially suffer from a lack of quantified characterization because of the limited quantity. The primary advantages to electrically driven systems are broader frequency ranges, ease of use and simple synchronization to electrical pumping. Here, we characterize the technical parameters for electrically driven UEM including the shape, size and duration of the electron pulses using low and high frequency chopping methods. At high frequencies, pulses are generated by sweeping the electron beam across a chopping aperture. For low frequencies, the beam is continuously forced off the optic axis by a DC potential, then momentarily aligned by a countering pulse. Using both methods, we present examples that measure probe durations of 2 ns and 10 ps for the low and high frequency techniques, respectively. Here, we also discuss how the implementation of a pulsed probe affects STEM imaging conditions by adjusting the first condenser lens.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Instrumental uncertainties in radiative corrections for the MUSE experiment

The MUSE experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute is measuring elastic lepton-proton scattering cross sections in a four-momentum transfer range from Q 2 of approximately 0.002–0.08 GeV 2 using positively and negatively charged electrons and muons. The extraction of the Born cross sections from the experimental data requires radiative corrections. Estimates of the instrumental uncertainties in those corrections have been made using the ESEPP event generator. The results depend in particular on the minimum lepton momentum that contributes to the experimental cross section and the fraction of events with hard initial-state radiation that is detected in the MUSE calorimeter and is excluded from the data. Furthermore, these results show that the angular-dependent instrumental uncertainties in radiative corrections to the electron cross section are less than 0.4% and are negligible for the muon cross section.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Pulsed-Beam Transmission Electron Microscopy and Radiation Damage

Here, we review the use of pulsed electron-beams in transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) for the purpose of mitigating specimen damage. We begin by placing the importance of TEMs with respect to materials characterization into proper context, and we provide a brief overview of established methods for reducing or eliminating the deleterious effects of beam-induced damage. We then introduce the concept of pulsed-beam TEM, and we briefly describe the basic methods and instrument configurations used to create so-called temporally structured electron beams. Following a brief overview of the use of high-dose-rate pulsed-electron beams in cancer radiation therapy, we review historical speculations and more recent compelling but mostly anecdotal findings of a pulsed-beam TEM damage effect. This is followed by an in-depth technical review of recent works seeking to establish cause-and-effect relationships, to conclusively uncover the presence of an effect, and to explore the practicality of the approach. These studies, in particular, provide the most compelling evidence to date that using a pulsed electron beam in the TEM is indeed a viable way to mitigate damage. Throughout, we point out current gaps in understanding, and we conclude with a brief perspective of current needs and future directions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Electron scattering processes: fundamentals, challenges, advances, and opportunities

Much effort has been devoted to describing qualitatively and quantitatively electron scattering processes due to their ever-increasing importance in many industrial and medical applications. We present achievements made in the last years, focusing on some of the advancements and recent progress in the field. Particular reference is made on concrete case studies to probe the level of accord in cross-section data obtained from experiments and theory, as well as on selected instrumentation developments to probe dynamics of dissociative processes induced by electron impact. We stress that the purpose of this colloquium paper is not to be a comprehensive review but rather to provide a snapshot of different research topics in electron scattering by pointing out certain challenges and, therefore, indicating opportunities to facilitate further experimental and theoretical work.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Parameterization of electron attachment rate constants for impurities in LArTPC detectors

The ability of free electrons to drift long distances at high velocities in pure liquid argon under an applied electric field has been exploited for the past forty years to implement detectors with increasingly larger volumes for high energy physics research. The attachment of free electrons to impurities in the LAr is an important limit on the free instrumented volume of these extremely large detectors, and impurity concentrations as small as 100 ppt can reduce their resolution and efficiency. In this paper, we summarize the electron attachment rate constants as a function of the applied electric field, for common impurities in LArTPCs, obtained from data in the literature. Here, we further provide analytical functions to parameterize the data, which are useful to compare with new measurements, to model and analyze the performance of existing detectors, and to predict the performance of new detectors.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Guest Editorial: Special Issue on InterPACK 2019 - Part 1

This is a collection of papers drawn from the 2019 ASME InterPACK Conference. The content spans the areas of heterogeneous integration, servers, flexible and wearable electronics, photonics, power electronics, energy storage, and autonomous and electric vehicles.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Capturing Ultrafast Electron Driven Chemical Reactions in Molecules

The goals of this project are to develop experimental tools to investigate the dynamics of dissociative electron attachment (DEA) reactions in real time. In a DEA reaction, the attachment of a low energy electron to a molecule results in bond breaking and the fragmentation of the molecule. A new instrument has been designed and is under construction to perform time-resolved photoelectron and photo-fragment spectroscopy following electron transfer from an iodide anion to a molecule within a mass-selected molecular dimer. Iodide binds only weakly through the dipole interaction with many polar molecules, and such molecules forming a dimer with iodide undergo only small changes from the equilibrium geometry in isolation. When the electron is transferred from the iodide, the iodine atom is no longer bound, so the electron transfer step can be considered analogous to electron attachment and brings the key advantage of ultrafast timing precision. The experiments proposed here will establish the experimental tools to interrogate the dynamics of dissociative electron attachment on the fundamental timescales of the nuclear motion, by simultaneously probing the valence electronic structure and the fragmentation pathways.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The fluctuation–dissipation measurement instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source

The development of new modes at x-ray free electron lasers has inspired novel methods for studying fluctuations at different energies and timescales. For closely spaced x-ray pulses that can be varied on ultrafast time scales, we have constructed a pair of advanced instruments to conduct studies targeting quantum materials. We first describe a prototype instrument built to test the proof-of-principle of resonant magnetic scattering using ultrafast pulse pairs. This is followed by a description of a new endstation, the so-called fluctuation–dissipation measurement instrument, which was used to carry out studies with a fast area detector. In addition, we describe various types of diagnostics for single-shot contrast measurements, which can be used to normalize data on a pulse-by-pulse basis and calibrate pulse amplitude ratios, both of which are important for the study of fluctuations in materials. Furthermore, we present some new results using the instrument that demonstrates access to higher momentum resolution.

Assefa, T. A.↗

A Roadmap for Edge Computing Enabled Automated Multidimensional Transmission Electron Microscopy

The advent of modern, high-speed electron detectors has made the collection of multidimensional hyperspectral transmission electron microscopy datasets, such as 4D-STEM, a routine. However, many microscopists find such experiments daunting since analysis, collection, long-term storage, and networking of such datasets remain challenging. Some common issues are their large and unwieldy size that often are several gigabytes, non-standardized data analysis routines, and a lack of clarity about the computing and network resources needed to utilize the electron microscope. The existing computing and networking bottlenecks introduce significant penalties in each step of these experiments, and thus, real-time analysis-driven automated experimentation for multidimensional TEM is challenging. One solution is to integrate microscopy with edge computing, where moderately powerful computational hardware performs the preliminary analysis before handing off the heavier computation to high-performance computing (HPC) systems. In this work, we trace the roots of computation in modern electron microscopy, demonstrate deep learning experiments running on an edge system, and discuss the networking requirements for tying together microscopes, edge computers, and HPC systems.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

A compact x-ray spectrometer for measurements of electron temperature distributions in inertial confinement fusion implosions at OMEGA

The Wedge Range Filter (WRF), commonly used for proton spectroscopy at the OMEGA Laser Facility and National Ignition Facility, is adapted to measure the x-ray continuum spectrum through transmission measurement using a continuous-gradient filter. Continuum x rays emitted from the hotspot of an implosion contain information about the plasma composition and electron temperature. The WRF data are leveraged to probe this distribution, specifically the electron temperature distribution. In this work, the data recorded with the WRF are forward modeled using a temperature distribution model folded with the WRF response function. An uncertainty analysis is conducted through a Bayesian regression algorithm using a Hamiltonian Monte Carlo sampler. This analysis enables the uncertainties in the instrument response to be folded into the uncertainty estimation of the electron temperature and absolute x-ray emission. Data analysis for a series of OMEGA implosions is presented and compared with radiation hydrodynamic simulations.

Lasers↗

Using X-ray spectrum imaging to quantify fission gas in high-burnup UO2 fuel

Analysis of fission gas bubbles (FGBs) in light-water reactor (LWR) fuel is needed to improve the understanding and predictive capability of fuel evolution under normal- and transient conditions. One of the most important parameters of a FGB is the pressure of the gas, primarily Xe, inside it. Bubble volume and location (inter- vs. intragranular) are important considerations as well. However, experimental analysis of such bubbles is challenging due to their small size and embedded nature, and usefulness of the data requires large numbers be analyzed. This paper proposes a method to measure the pressure of Xe bubbles using X-ray spectrum imaging (XSI) in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). From X-ray generation and instrumental parameters, the number of Xe atoms yielding a given number of Xe L-series X-ray counts is estimated, and then from the estimated volume of the bubble the Xe density is estimated, which can then be converted to pressure via an equation-of-state. We apply the method to XSI datasets from high burnup (HBu) fuel from North Anna 1 reactor in as-irradiated and post-LOCA-test conditions and find Xe pressures in the FGBs clustered around 1 GPa.

Parish, Chad [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000312097439)↗